Recording medium and reproducing apparatus thereof

ABSTRACT

A table of a management region on the disc contains a disc identifier that represents the type of the data recording format of the disc, a number-of-disc-sides identifier that represents whether the disc is a single-sided disc or a double-sided disc, and a disc side identifier that represents whether the reproducing disc is side A or side B of a double-sided disc. A disc identifier 4 that represents the type of the data recording format of the file is recorded in a file (n) table including management information of the file. A reproducing apparatus reads the disc identifiers from the PVD table and the file (n) table and determines whether or not the disc and the file are reproducible. In addition, the reproducing apparatus reads the number-of-disc-sides identifier 2 from the PVD table and determines whether or not the disc is a double-sided disc or a single-sided disc. When the disc is a double-sided disc, the reproducing apparatus determines whether the reproducing side is side A or side B.

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/708,459, filed Sep. 5,1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,831,966, incorporated herein by reference,which is a division of application Ser. No. 08/421,743, filed Apr. 13,1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,636,200, issued Apr. 13, 1995, which is alsoincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a recording medium, such as an opticaldisc, and a reproducing apparatus thereof.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, management information is recorded on an optical disc. Themanagement information manages data (files) recorded on the opticaldisc. As a representative example, management information defined asISO-9660 standard is known. The management information includes at leastID information and the size of each disc, the number and reproducingorder of discs that correlate, and the ID information, the recordposition, and the size of each file recorded on the disc as structuralelements.

However, in recent years, discs that have the management informationcorresponding to the ISO-9660 standard are categorized as various typessuch as specific discs, single-sided discs, and double-sided discs.However, the conventional management information does not includeinformation that distinguishes such disc types.

The management information is especially important for system operation.In other words, if the management information is damaged, the entireinformation on the disc will be lost. To prevent such a problem, thesame management information is recorded in another region as a spare. Tofurther improve the safety of the management information, as shown inFIG. 40, the spare management information is recorded in a multiplexedfashion at multiple regions on the disc. However, in this case, thespare management information is recorded at a different record positionas shown by arrows A. Thus, each portions of duplicated managementinformation will have a different value that represents the positionthereof. Thus, as the number of regions of the spare managementinformation is increased, the work load of the disc provider increases.

Moreover, in recent years, as the storage capacity of optical discsincreases, discs that record a plurality of stories with slightlydifferent contents and that reproduce any story selected by the user areknown. However, in this case, since the same data for each story isrecorded in a multiplexed fashion, the efficiency of the disc storagecapacity is remarkably low.

Furthermore, in recent years, as a technique for selectively reproducinga variety of data recorded on the disc, menus are used. When menus arecomposed, for example, as shown in FIG. 41, a menu list and memory imageinformation are recorded at predetermined regions of the disc. In themenu list, the record position of menu image information correspondingto each menu number and the file record position corresponding to eachmenu selection number are recorded. When any menu number is selected (atstep 1), a corresponding menu image information is read (at step 3)based on an address on the menu list (at step 2). Thus, the menu screenis displayed. When any file number is selected from the menu screen (atstep 4), the record position of the desired file is determinedcorresponding to the menu list (at step 5) and the desired file isreproduced (at step 6).

However, in the above described method using the menu list, as thenumber of selection items increases, the size of the menu list increasesand the ratio of the data amount of the menu to the entire record dataamount increases, thereby lowering the efficiency of the disc storagecapacity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A first object of the present invention is to provide a recording mediumand a reproducing apparatus thereof that can determine the types of arecording medium and individual files corresponding to a data recordformat.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a recordingmedium and a reproducing apparatus thereof that determine the number ofrecording sides and a recording surface thereof.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a recording mediumthat does not need to change values that represent positions of regionsof spare management information recorded in a multiplexed fashion.

A fourth object of the present invention is to provide a recordingmedium and a recording medium reproducing apparatus that does not needto record the same data in a multiplexed fashion.

A fifth object of the present invention is to provide a recording mediumand a reproducing apparatus thereof that do not increase the ratio ofmenu data amount to the entire data amount even if the number of menuselection items increases.

To accomplish such objects, a first aspect of the present invention is arecording medium comprising a data region in which data is recorded as afile corresponding to a predetermined data recording format, and amanagement region including medium identifying information thatrepresents the type of the data recording format and file identifyinginformation that represents the type of the data recording format of thefile.

A second aspect of the present invention is a reproducing apparatus,comprising a first determining means for reading medium identifyinginformation recorded in the management region and determining a type ofa data recording format of the recording medium corresponding to themedium identifying information, and a second determining means forreading the file identifying information of each file recorded in themanagement region and determining a type of each file recorded on therecording medium corresponding to the file identifying information.

Thus, according to the present invention, the type of the recordingformat for a recording medium and the type of files can be determined.Consequently, a recording medium and files dedicated for a specificsystem can be provided.

A third aspect of the present invention is a recording medium having twoopposite sides, either or both of which are selective as recordingsides, comprising a data region in which data is recorded, and amanagement region including number-of-recording-sides identifyinginformation that represents the number of recording sides of therecording medium and recording side identifying information thatrepresents the recording side.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is a reproducing apparatus,comprising a number-of-recording-sides determining means for reading thenumber-of-recording-sides identifying information recorded in themanagement region and determining the number of recording sides of therecording medium, and a recording-side determining means for reading therecording-side identifying information recorded in the management regionand determining the recording side of the recording medium to bereproduced.

Thus, according to the present invention, different types of recordingmediums that are for example single-sided type and double-sided type canbe handled.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is a recording medium,comprising a data region in which data is recorded, a management regionin which management information is recorded, the management informationbeing adapted for managing data recorded in the data region, and aplurality of spare management regions in which management informationwith the same content as the management region is recorded, valuesrepresenting the positions in the spare management regions beingrepresented with relative distance from the top addresses thereof.

Thus, it is not necessary to change the value that represents theposition of each management information.

A sixth aspect of the present invention is a recording medium on whichdata is recorded as a file, the file comprising a first region in whicha data unit group that is a group of a plurality of types of data thatare synchronously reproduced, a second region in which at least one cellinformation table that is a program cell composed by selectively linkingat least one data unit recorded in the first region, and a third regionin which at least one chain information that is a program chain composedby selectively linking at least one cell information table recorded inthe second region.

A seventh aspect of the present invention is a reproducing apparatuscomprising a first searching means for searching any chain informationtable recorded in the third region, a second searching means forsearching at least one cell information table that composes the programchain from the second region corresponding to the searched chaininformation table, and a third searching means for searching at leastone data unit that composes the program cell from the first regioncorresponding to the cell information table searched by the secondsearching means.

Thus, according to the present invention, the same program cell can beshared with a plurality of program chains. Consequently, the same datacan be prevented from being redundantly recorded. As a result, theefficiency of the recording capacity of the recording medium can bemaximized.

An eighth aspect of the present invention is a recording medium, whereinthe file includes at least one cell information table that composes amenu screen on which any data item to be displayed is selected, andwherein the cell information table that composes the menu screenincludes identifying information that represents that the cellinformation table composes the menu screen.

A ninth aspect of the present invention is a reproducing apparatus,comprising means for determining a cell information table that composesa menu screen corresponding to the identifying information and means forreproducing the menu screen corresponding to the cell information table.

Thus, according to the present invention, it is not necessary to recorda menu list and so forth in other than a file. Consequently, even if thenumber of selection items increases, the ratio of the menu data amountto the entire record data amount does not increase.

A tenth aspect of the present invention is a recording medium, whereinthe chain information table that composes the program chain with thecell information table that composes the menu screen includes block modeinformation that defines a cell information group that composes the menuscreens that correlate as one block.

An eleventh aspect of the present invention is a recording apparatus,comprising a means for recognizing the correlation among a plurality ofmenu screens included in the chain information table corresponding tothe block mode information in the chain information table searched bythe first searching means, and a means for reproducing a second menuscreen after a first menu screen is selected, when the recognizing meanshas determined that there is correlation between the first menu screenthat is being reproduced and the second menu screen.

A twelfth aspect of the present invention is a recording medium, whereinthe cell information table that composes the menu screen furtherincludes language type information that represents a language type ofcharacters displayed on the menu screen.

A thirteenth aspect of the present invention is a reproducing apparatus,comprising a means for determining whether or not a language type of themenu screen composed of the cell information table on the menu screenmatches a language type selected by the language type selecting meanscorresponding to the language type information in the cell informationtable when the determining means has determined the cell informationtable that composes the menu screen, and a means for reproducing atleast one data unit searched by the third searching means as the menuscreen.

Thus, according to the present invention, only a menu screen with alanguage type selected by the user is reproduced from a plurality ofcell information tables so as to compose a menu screen with same contentbut different languages.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent in light of the following detaileddescription of a best mode embodiment thereof, as illustrated in theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a data structure of an opticaldisc according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an example of PVD table;

FIG. 3 is an example of VTD table;

FIG. 4 is an example of L type PT table;

FIG. 5 is an example of M type PT table;

FIG. 6 is an example of DR(00) table;

FIG. 7 is an example of DR(01) table;

FIG. 8 is an example of file (n) table;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a construction of an optical discreproducing apparatus that reproduces data from the disc shown in FIG.1;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a construction of a device thatdetermines the types of a disc and a file corresponding to a datarecording format;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a construction of a function thatdetermines the number of recording sides and a reproducing side of adisc;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing a file access process of a datastructure;

FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing a file access process;

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing disc management informationwritten to a read-in region in the multiplexed fashion;

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing a data structure of a file;

FIG. 16 is an example of a file management table;

FIG. 17 is an example of a chain information table;

FIG. 18 is another example of a chain information table;

FIG. 19 is an example of a cell information table;

FIG. 20 is an example of a DAT;

FIG. 21 is a flow chart showing a program chain selecting process;

FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram showing an example of file relocation;

FIGS. 23A-23C illustrate tables showing branch information of threeprogram chains;

FIGS. 24A-24C illustrate tables showing chain control information ofthree program chains;

FIGS. 25A-25C are schematic diagrams showing a reproducing process ofthree chain programs;

FIG. 26 is a table showing control information of a program chain;

FIG. 27 is a flow chart showing a successive reproducing process ofprogram cells;

FIG. 28 is a schematic diagram showing a real example of a successivereproducing process of program cells;

FIG. 29 is a table showing an example of control information of programchains including multiple angles;

FIG. 30 is a flow chart showing a reproduction control process ofmultiple angles;

FIG. 31 is a schematic diagram showing a real example of a reproducingprocess of multiple angles;

FIG. 32 is a schematic diagram showing a construction of chain controlinformation in a chain information table that composes a menu screen;

FIG. 33 is a table and a schematic diagram showing a structure of a cellinformation table that composes a menu screen;

FIG. 34 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of a file selectingmenu;

FIG. 35 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of a sequence(program chain) selecting menu;

FIG. 36 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of another menu;

FIG. 37 is a block diagram showing a structure of a function fordisplaying a menu;

FIG. 38 is a schematic diagram showing a file selecting process;

FIG. 39 is a table showing a cell information table group that composesa plurality of menu screens with different languages;

FIG. 40 is a schematic diagram showing multiplexedly recorded sparemanagement information of a related art reference; and

FIG. 41 is a schematic diagram showing a menu composing process of arelated art reference.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Next, with reference to the accompanying drawings, an embodiment of thepresent invention will be described.

FIG. 1 a schematic diagram showing a data structure of an optical discaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

The data structure of the disc is based on ISO-9660 standard. The recordspace of the disc is divided into a read-in region, a management region,a data region, and a read-out region. The management region includes asystem area, a PVD (Primary Volume Descriptor) table, a VTD (VolumeTerminate Descriptor) table, a PT (Path Table), and a DR (DirectoryRecord). The data region is composed of a plurality of files. Thephysical sector size is 1024 bytes. The logical sector size is 2048bytes. The logical block size is 1024 bytes.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the PVD table of the management region,information of the disc (volume) such as the size of the volume, theattribute of the volume, the position of the route DR, and the positionof the PT is written. The content of the VTD table is defined as shownin FIG. 3. In the PT (L type PT or M type PT), as shown in FIGS. 4 and5, hierarchical structures between DRs are written. The DR is a tablegroup that are composed of a route DR (00) table, a route DR (01) table,and a file (n) table. In the route DR (00) table and the route DR (01)table, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the positions thereof are written. Thefile (n) table is provided for each file in the data region. As shown inFIG. 8, in the file (n) table, the position of the file and so forth arewritten.

As shown in FIG. 2, the PVD table is provided with an application systemregion. In the application system region, a disc identifier 1, anumber-of-disc-sides identifier 2, a disc side identifier 3, and soforth are recorded. The disc identifier 1 represents the type of thedata recording format of the disc. The number-of-disc-sides identifier 2represents whether the disc is a double-sided disc or a single-sideddisc. The disc side identifier 3 represents whether side A or side B ofa double-sided disc is being reproduced. In the PVD table, the value ofthe BP represents the byte position from the top of the table.

As shown in FIG. 8, the file (n) table corresponding to each file isprovided with an application system region. In the application systemregion, information (disc identifier) 4 and so forth are recorded. Thedisc identifier 4 represents the type of the data recording format ofthe file.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a construction of an optical discreproducing apparatus that reproduces data from a disc that has theabove-described data structure. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 11 is anoptical disc drive portion that drives the optical disc and reads datafrom the optical disc through an optical pickup. Reference numeral 12 isan MPU (Micro Processor Unit) that controls the entire system of theapparatus. Reference numeral 13 is a key input portion that supplies auser command to the MPU 12. Reference numeral 14 is an RAM portion thatis used as a working region for a ROM and the MPU 12. In the ROM, acontrol program for the MPU 12 is stored. Reference numeral 15 is asystem processor portion that demodulates and error-corrects the datathat is output from the optical drive portion 11 and divides theerror-corrected data into three types of data that are video (mainimage), audio, and sub video. Reference numeral 16 is a RAM portion thatprocesses data. Reference numerals 17, 18, and 19 are a video decoderportion, an audio decoder portion, and a sub video decoder portion thatdecode the video data, the audio data, and the sub video data that areoutput from the system processor portion 15, respectively. Referencenumeral 20 is a D/A & reproducing process portion that converts eachdecoded data into an analog signal, multiplexes the video data and thesub video data, and outputs the multiplexed data to an image and soundoutput portion 21.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 10 to 13, the operation of the opticaldisc reproducing apparatus will be described. FIG. 10 is a block diagramshowing a construction of a device that determines the types of a discand a file corresponding to the data recording format of the disc. FIG.11 is a schematic diagram showing a construction of a device thatdetermines the number of recording sides of the disc and the reproducingside. FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing a file access process ofthe data structure shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing afile access process.

After the disc reproducing apparatus is activated or the disc isreplaced, the reproducing apparatus reads the PVD table (at step 1).Thereafter, the reproducing apparatus determines whether or not the discis based on the ISO-9660 standard corresponding to the standardidentifier in the PVD table (at step 2). When the disc is based on theISO-9660 standard, a disc recording format determining portion 31 of thereproducing apparatus checks the disc identifier 1 recorded in theapplication system region of the PVD table and determines whether or notthe reproducing apparatus can reproduce data from the disc (applicabledisc) (at step 3).

When the mounted disc is an applicable disc, anumber-of-disc-recording-sides determining portion 41 of the reproducingapparatus determines the number-of-disc-sides identifier 2 recorded inthe application system region (at step 4). When the mounted disc is adouble-sided disc, a disc side A/B determining portion 42 of thereproducing apparatus checks the disc side identifier 3 recorded in theapplication system region and determines whether the reproducing side isside A or side B (at step 5).

Thereafter, the reproducing apparatus reads the PT and determines thehierarchical structure between the DRs. Next, the reproducing apparatusreads the route RD and determines the position of each file (n) table(at step 6). After that, the reproducing apparatus obtains a file namefrom the first file (n) table (at step 7) and determines whether or notthe file name matches a predetermined file name (at step 8). When thesefile names do not match, the reproducing apparatus obtains the next filename (at step 9) and repeats the same operation. When these files match,a file record format determining portion 32 shown in FIG. 10 of thereproducing apparatus checks the information (disc identifier) 4 in theapplication system region of the file (n) table in the matched file anddetermines whether or not the file is applicable for the reproducingapparatus (at step 11). When the file is not applicable, the process isterminated. When the file is applicable, the reproducing apparatuschecks the record position of the file corresponding to the file (n)table and accesses the file (at step 12).

Next, the multiplex recording method of the management information willbe described.

On the disc, the same management information as the information recordedin the management region is recorded at a plurality of positions otherthan the positions of the management region and the data region in amultiplexed fashion.

FIG. 14 shows the spare management information that is multiplexedwritten at a plurality of positions in the read-in region in amultiplexed fashion. As shown in FIG. 14, the values that represent thepositions of individual spare management information are defined by therelative distance (number of sectors) from the top addresses of thespare management regions 51 and 52.

The absolute addresses that represent the positions in a managementregion 53 and a data region 54 are defined by the relative distance (thenumber of sectors) from the top address of the management region 53.Thus, when any position of the spare management region 51 or 52 isaccessed, by adding the value of a desired absolute address and anoffset value of the top address of the spare management region 51 or 52,the value of the absolute address can be calculated. For example, whenthe top address of the first spare management region 51 is -20, theaddress represented by the absolute address 3 is calculated by thefollowing expression.

    3+(-20)=-17

Likewise, when the top address of the second spare management region 52is -10, the address represented by the absolute address 3 can becalculated by the following expression.

    3+(-10)=-7

Next, the data structure of the file recorded in the data region of thedisc will be described. FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing the datastructure of the file. As shown in FIG. 15, the file includes a filemanagement table 5, a group of chain information tables 6, a group ofcell information tables 7, a group of DUT allocation tables (referred toas DATs) 8, and a group of DUTs (data units) 9.

As shown in FIG. 16, the file management table 5 includes the number ofchain information tables, the number of cell information tables, thenumber of DUTs (data units), the number of sectors, and pointers thatrepresent the top of each table.

As shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, in the chain information table 6,information that composes a program chain is written. A program chain isa unit that composes one story. Each program chain is composed bylinking a plurality of programs in the order of the reproduction. Aprogram is composed of a group of at least one unit called a programcell. In other words, the chain information table 6 includes informationthat composes one program chain in which a plurality of cell informationtables 7 are selectively linked. In the file, a plurality of chaininformation tables 6 are successively placed in the order of chainnumbers.

As shown in FIG. 19, in the cell information table 7, information thatcomposes program cells is written. A program cell is a part thatcomposes one program. Each program cell is composed by linking aplurality of DUTs in the order of reproduction. In other words, the cellinformation table 7 includes information that composes one-program cellin which a plurality of DUTs 9 are selectively linked. In the file, aplurality of cell information tables 7 are successively linked in theorder of cell numbers.

As shown in FIG. 20, in the DAT 8, information that represents theposition of the DUT is written as the relative distance (number ofsectors) from the top of the file. In the file, a plurality of DATs 8are successively placed in the order of the DUT numbers.

The DUT 9 is composed of a plurality of types of data that are videodata, audio data, sub video data that are synchronously reproduced. Thereproducing time of each DUT 9 is not defined. In the file, the DUTs 9are placed in the order of the DUT numbers.

Next, with reference to FIG. 21, a process for selecting a program chainwill be described.

The reproducing apparatus can reproduce any program chain selected bythe user from a plurality of program chains that are present in a file.

The reproducing apparatus obtains a required file and then reads thefile management table 5 from the file (at step 101). Thereafter, thereproducing apparatus obtains the number of program chains in the file,the number of program cells in the file, the number of DUTs in the file,the number of sectors in the file, and the pointers that represent thetop of each table (at step 103). Next, the reproducing apparatus obtainsthe content of the first chain information table corresponding to theobtained pointers (at step 104) and resets the counter value thatrepresents the chain number to "0" (at step 105).

After that, the reproducing apparatus determines whether or not thechain number represented by the counter matches a chain numberdesignated by the user (at step 106). When these number do not match,with a pointer that is obtained by adding the length of the tablewritten to the chain information table to the top pointer, thereproducing apparatus obtains the content of the next chain informationtable (at step 107). Thereafter, the reproducing apparatus incrementsthe chain number by "1" (at step 108) and determines whether or not thechain number of the counter matches the chain number designated by theuser. The reproducing apparatus repeats steps 6 to 8 until the chainnumber represented by the counter matches the chain number designated bythe user.

When the chain number represented by the counter matches the chainnumber designated by the user, the reproducing apparatus obtains thenumber of program cells that compose the program chain, the number ofDUTs, the number of sub video channels, the number of audio streams, andso forth from the chain information table (at step 109). Thereafter, thereproducing apparatus obtains the number of branch points (NBP) in thechain information table and the top pointer of the cain controlinformation (SCINFO) from the obtained information (at step 110). Afterthat, the reproducing apparatus obtains the top chain controlinformation (SCINFO) from the obtained top pointer (at step 111) andstarts the reproduction control of the program chain corresponding tothe chain control information (SCINFO) (at step 112).

The top positions of the file management table 5, the chain informationtable 6, the cell information table 6, the cell information table 7, theDAT 8, and the DUT 9 in the file shown in FIG. 15 are defined by therelative distance (the number of sectors) from the top of the file. Inthe following description, the number of sectors of the file managementtable 5 is represented by a. The number of sectors of all chaininformation tables 6 is represented by b. The number of sectors of allcell information tables is represented by c. The number of sectors ofall DATs is represented by d. Thus, the top position of the filemanagement table is represented by 0. The position of the top chaininformation table is represented by a. The position of the top cellinformation table is represented by a+b. The position of the top DAT isrepresented by a+b+c. The position of the top DUT is represented bya+b+c+d.

Because the position in the file is represented by the relative distance(the number of sectors) from the top of the file, as shown in FIG. 22,when the file is relocated to another position of the data region, it isnot necessary to change the value that represents the position.

In the file structure of this optical disc, a plurality of programchains can share the same program cells.

As shown in FIG. 18, in the chain information table, the number ofbranch points (NBP) that represents the number of program cells sharedwith another program chain and branch information (BINFO) that is theprogram cell number are written. FIGS. 23A-23C and 24A-24C show examplesof the branch information (BINFO) and chain control information (SCINFO)in the case that program chains A, B, and C share program cells. In thechain control information (SCINFO), program cell numbers are written inthe order of reproduction thereof. The reproducing apparatussuccessively selects and reproduces program cells corresponding to thechain control information (SCINFO). Thus, the program chains A, B, and Care reproduced corresponding to the process shown in FIGS. 25A-25C. InFIGS. 25A-25C, (0) to (8) represent program cell numbers and reproducingregions thereof.

Next, the operation in the case that a program chain is switched whileone of program chains A, B, and C is being reproduced will be described.

1) When the program chain A is switched to the program chain B while theprogram cell 1 of the program chain A is being reproduced, the programchain B is reproduced from the first program cell 5.

2) When the program chain A is switched to the program chain C while theprogram cell 1 of the program chain A is being reproduced, the programchain C is reproduced from the first program cell 7.

3) When the program chain A is switched to the program chain B after theprogram cell 1 of the program chain A has been reproduced, the programchain B is reproduced from the next program cell 2. This is because theprogram chain B has the program cell 1 that is shared with the programchain A. To prevent the same program cell from being redundantlyreproduced, the program chain B is reproduced from the next program cell2.

4) When the program chain A is switched to the program chain C after theprogram cell 1 of the program chain A has been reproduced, the programchain C is reproduced from the first program cell 7.

5) When the program chain A is switched to the program chain B after theprogram cell 2 of the program chain A has been reproduced, the programchain B is reproduced from the program cell 6. The reason is the same as3) above.

6) When the program chain A is switched to the program chain C after theprogram cell 2 of the program chain C has been reproduced, the programchain C is reproduced from the first program cell 7.

7) When the program chain A is switched to the program chain B after theprogram cell 3 of the program chain A has been reproduced, the programchain B is reproduced from the program cell 6.

8) When the program chain A is switched to the program chain C after theprogram cell 3 of the program chain A has been reproduced, the programchain C is reproduced from the program cell 8. This is because theprogram chain C has the program cell 3 that is shared with the programchain A. To prevent the same program cell from being redundantlyreproduced, the program chain C is reproduced from the program cell 8.

When a first program chain is switched to a second program chain thatshares program cells with the first program chain, after the sharedprogram cells have been reproduced, the next program chain isreproduced.

Next, a process for controlling the reproduction of a program chain willbe described.

As shown in FIG. 18, in the chain information table, the chain controlinformation (SCINFO) is successively recorded in the order of thereproduction of the program cells. Thus, by reading the chain controlinformation, the program cells can be successively reproduced (namely,the program chain can be reproduced).

As shown in FIGS. 18 and 26, the chain control information (SCINFO)includes a two-bit reproduction control area 61. The reproducingapparatus can recognize the content of the control of program cells thatare successively reproduced corresponding to the reproduction controlinformation.

The content of the reproduction control information is:

00: Successively reproduces the next program cell without waiting aftera program cell is reproduced (presence of continuity of programs).

01: Successively reproduces the next program cell without waiting aftera program cell is reproduced (absence of continuity of programs).

10: Reproduces a program cell with waiting time (PWAIT) designated bycell information table after another program cell is reproduced.

11: Stops the reproducing operation, after a program cell is reproduced.

Next, a real example of the successive reproduction control of programcells corresponding to the reproduction control information will bedescribed.

FIG. 26 shows an example of the chain control information (SCINFO). Inthis example, a program chain is composed of five program cells. Theangle modes of the program cells are "00". A multi-angle reproduction isnot designated. In the multi-angle reproduction, the user can select oneof program cells that can be reproduced in the same time on the sametime axis. For example, in the case of a baseball program on TV, theuser can select one of the two images which have been photographed andreceived by cameras on the first base side and the second base side.

Next, with reference to a flow chart of FIG. 27, a process forcontrolling successive reproduction of program cells will be describedwith no multi-angle (Angle mode=00B)

The reproducing apparatus obtains the first control information (SCINFO)from the chain information table (at step 201) and reads the firstprogram cell number therefrom (at step 202). Thereafter, the reproducingapparatus reads the top pointer of the cell information table from thefile management table and obtains a desired cell information tablecorresponding to the top pointer and the program cell number (at step203). Next, the reproducing apparatus reproduces program cellscorresponding to the content of the obtained cell information table (atstep 204).

At this point, the reproducing apparatus reads the information of thereproduction control area of the chain control information and controlsthe successive reproduction of the program cells corresponding to thereproduction control information.

When the reproduction control information is "00" (at step 205), afterthe reproducing apparatus has reproduced the program cell, it obtainsthe next chain control information (SCINFO) (at step 211) and thenstarts reproducing the next program cell.

When the reproduction control information is "01" (at step 206), thereproducing apparatus executes a broken link process such as mute justbefore it completes reproducing the program cell (at step 209). Afterthe reproducing apparatus has reproduced the program cell, it obtainsthe next program chain control information (SCINFO) and then startsreproducing the next program cell.

When the reproduction control information is "10" (at step 207), afterthe reproducing apparatus has reproduced the program cell, it performs await process for time (PWAIT) designated by the cell information table(at step 210). After the wait time elapsed, the reproducing apparatusobtains the next chain control information (SCINFO) and startsreproducing the next program cell.

When the reproduction control information is "11", after the reproducingapparatus has reproduced the program cell, it stops reproducing theprogram chain (at step 208).

The real process of the reproduction control for the chain controlinformation shown in FIG. 26 will be described as follows. FIG. 28 showsthe process of the reproduction control.

Chain control information number 0: S1→S2 (obtained cell number 0)→S3→S4(reproduced cell number)→S5→S11

Chain control information number 1: →S2 (obtained cell number 1)→S3→S4(reproduced cell number 1)→S5→S6→S9→S11

Chain control information number 2: →S2 (obtained cell number 4)→S3→S4(reproduced cell number 4)→S5→S11

Chain control information number 3: →S2 (obtained cell number 2)→S3→S4(reproduced cell number 2)→S5→S6→S7→S10 (wait process)→S11

Chain control information number 4: →S2 (obtained cell number 3)→S3→S4(reproduced cell number 3)→S5→S6→S7→S8→end

Next, a process for multi-angle reproduction of program cells will bedescribed.

As shown in FIGS. 29 and 18, in the chain control information of thechain information table, 2-bit angle mode information 71 and 4-bit anglenumber 42 are recorded. The content of the angle mode information 71 isas follows. The angle block is a group of some program cells that areselectively reproduced in the same time on the same time axis.

00: No angle block

10: Start/continuance of angle block

11: End of angle block.

Angle numbers 72 are successively assigned to program cells that composean angle block. When the user selects an angle number, the program cellcorresponding to the angle number is reproduced.

Next, the process for the multi-angle reproduction will be described.FIG. 30 is a flow chart showing the process for the multi-anglereproduction control.

The reproducing apparatus obtains the first chain control information(SCINFO) from the chain information table and reads the first programcell number therefrom (at step 302). Thereafter, the reproducingapparatus reads the top pointer of the cell information table from thefile management table and obtains a desired cell information tablecorresponding to the top pointer and the program cell number (at step303). The reproducing apparatus reads the angle mode information 71 ofthe first chain control information and executes the multi-anglereproduction control corresponding to the information in the followingmanner.

When the angle mode information is "10", (start/continuance of angleblock) (at step 306), the reproducing apparatus determines whether ornot the user has designated an angle number (at step 307). When an anglenumber has not been designated, the reproducing apparatus selects adefault angle number (0) (at step 308) and sets the angle mode flag (atstep 309). When an angle number has been designated, the reproducingapparatus just sets the angle mode flag (at step 309).

Thereafter, the reproducing apparatus determines whether or not thepresent program cell is a program cell with an angle number designatedby the user (at step 310). When the determined result is YES, thereproducing apparatus obtains a corresponding cell information table andexecutes the reproduction of the program cell corresponding to thecontent of the cell information table (at step 311). Thereafter, thereproducing apparatus-resets the angle mode flag (at step 312). When thedetermined result is "NO", the reproducing apparatus does not reproducethe present program cell. Thus, the reproducing apparatus keeps theangle mode flag in the set state.

Next, the reproducing apparatus reads the information of thereproduction control area 61. When the information is not "11" (stopsreproducing the program chain) (at step 313), the reproducing apparatusobtains the next chain control information from the chain informationtable (at step 315) and repeats the same process at step 2.

When the angle mode information 71 at step 4 is "11" (end of the angleblock), the reproducing apparatus determines whether or not the anglemode flag has been set (at step 316). When the angle mode flag has beenreset, the reproducing apparatus obtains the next chain controlinformation through step 13 (at step 315). Alternatively, thereproducing apparatus terminates the process for reproducing the programchain (at step 314).

Thus, the multi-angle reproduction control is executed corresponding tothe chain control information shown in FIG. 29 as follows. FIG. 31 showsthe process for the multi-angle reproduction control. In the followingdescription, it is assumed that the angle number designated by the useris "1".

Chain control information number 0: S1→S2 (obtained cell number0)→S3→S4→S5→S11 (reproduced cell number 0)→S12→S13→S15

Chain control information number 1: →S2 (obtained cell number1)→S3→S4→S5→S6→S7→S9→S10.fwdarw.S13→S15

Chain control information number 2: →S2 (obtained cell number5)→S3→S4→S5→S6 →S7→S9→S10→S11 (reproduced cell number 5)→S12→S13→S15

Chain control-information number 3: →S2 (obtained cell number6)→S3→S4→S16→S13→S15

Chain control information number 4: →S2 (obtained cell number 2)→S3→S4→S5→S11 (reproduced cell number 2)→S12→S13→S15

Chain control information number 5: →S2 (obtained cell number3)→S3→S4→S5→S6→S7→S8→S9.fwdarw.S10→S11 (reproduced cell number3)→S12→S13→S15

Chain control information number 6:→S2 (obtained cell number 7)→S3→S4→S16→S13→S15

Chain control information number 7: →S2 (obtained cell number4)→S3→S4→S5→S6→S11 (reproduced cell number 4)→S12→S13→S14→end

Next, specific code added corresponding to an application type of aprogram chain of this disc will be described.

As shown in FIG. 17, in the chain information table, 4-bit typeinformation 74 and 8-bit specific code 73 are recorded. The 4-bit typeinformation 74 represents an application type of a program chain. The8-bit specific code 73 represents detail description of the applicationtype. The specific code 73 represents detailed content, and the detailedcontent corresponding to the code is defined uniquely to each of theapplication type. For example, as an application of a program chain, anorchestral music program and an instrument are considered. In the caseof an orchestral music program, the specific code represents thelanguage type of the superimposed text. In the case of the instrument,the specific code represents the type of the instrument. Thus, withoutneed to extend the specific code, with the specific code having a fixedlength, detailed contents of many types can be defined.

Next, a process for displaying a menu of the disc will be described.

FIG. 32 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of chain controlinformation (SCINFO) in the chain information table that composes a menuscreen. FIG. 33 is a table and a schematic diagram showing the structureof a cell information table composing a menu screen.

As shown in FIG. 32, the chain control information (SCINFO) of the chaininformation table includes 2-bit block mode information 81 and 4-bitblock type 82 that represents the type of a block. The block modeinformation 81 represents the correlation among a plurality of programcells. In other words, when the block mode information 81 is "00", theprogram cell is not a cell that composes the block. When the block modeinformation 81 is "01", the program cell is a cell at the top of theblock. When the block mode information 81 is "10", the program cell is acell except the top cell and the end cell in the block. When the blockmode information 81 is "11", this program cell is a cell at the end ofthe block. When the block type 82 is "0000", this program cell is not ablock. When the block type 82 is "0001", this program cell is an angleblock. When the block type 82 is "0010", this program cell is a menublock.

As shown in FIG. 33, in the cell information table, type information 83and specific code 84 are written. The type information represents thetype of a program cell. As the types of program cells, there are movie,orchestra, and various menus. As menu types, there are file selectingmenu, sequence (program chain) selecting menu, audio stream selectingmenu, sub video channel selecting menu, program selecting menu, angleselecting menu, and so forth. When the type of the program cell is themenu, the specific code 84 represents the language type.

FIG. 34 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of a file selectingmenu. As shown in FIG. 34, the file selecting menu is composed with thetop file in the data region. In other words, this file is composed of atleast one chain information table S0 including at least one cellinformation table C0. In FIG. 34, P0 represents a program composing aprogram chain. A program is composed of at least one cell informationtable.

FIG. 35 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of a sequence(program chain) selecting menu. As shown in FIG. 35, this menu iscomposed of chain information tables S0 at the top portions ofindividual files. In the chain information table, cell informationtables C120 and C200 that compose the audio stream selecting menu andthe sub video channel selecting menu can be added. In this case, aplurality of cell information tables that composes individual menus arecorrelated by the block mode information 81 in the chain informationtable. When one menu is composed of a plurality of screens (a pluralityof cell information tables), each cell information is correlated by theblock mode information 81.

One chain information table can compose a menu and non-menu data byusing the block mode information 81 and the block type 82. FIG. 36 is aschematic diagram in this case. In this example, the chain informationtable S1 includes two cell information tables C20 and C21 that composethe angle selecting menu and the program selecting menu. The cellinformation tables C20 and C21 are placed only at the top portion of thechain information table S1. The next chain information table S2 includesone cell information table C22 that composes a low order programselecting menu of the program selecting menu. The cell information tableC22 is placed only at the top portion of the chain information table S2.The chain information table S3 includes one cell information table C23that composes a low order angle selecting menu of the angle selectingmenu. The cell information table C23 is placed at the top portion of thechain information table S3.

Next, a reproducing apparatus that accomplishes the menu display of thedisc will be described.

FIG. 37 is a block diagram showing the construction of the function thataccomplishes the menu display. In FIG. 37, reference numeral 91 is a keyinput portion that designates a selection item on the menu screen and alanguage type. Reference numeral 92 is a menu determining/selectingportion that determines a cell information table that composes a menuscreen corresponding to the type information 83 recorded in the cellinformation table and recognizes an item number selected on the menuscreen. Reference numeral 93 is a reproduction control informationstoring portion that stores reproduction control information recorded ina chain information table including the cell information table thatcomposes the menu screen. Reference numeral 94 is a cell reproduced datastoring portion that stores at least one data unit as cell reproduceddata corresponding to the cell information table that composes the menuscreen. Reference numeral 95 is a cell reproduction control portion thatcontrols the reproduction of cell reproduced data stored in the cellreproduced data storing portion 94. Reference numeral 96 is a displayportion that displays the menu screen. Reference numeral 97 is a menublock determining portion that recognizes the correlation among aplurality of cell information tables that composes the menu screencorresponding to the block mode information 81 in the chain informationtable. Reference numeral 98 is a menu block switching portion thatswitches the present menu screen to the next menu screen after an itemhas been selected on the menu screen that is being reproduced when themenu block determining portion 97 has recognized the correlation betweenthe present menu screen and the next reproducing menu screen. Referencenumeral 99 is a specific code determining/storing portion that storesthe specific code 73 of the cell information table that composes themenu screen and determines whether or not the language type of the menuscreen matches the predetermined language type.

Next, the operation of the menu display of the disc will be described.FIG. 38 is a schematic diagram showing a process for selecting a file.

The reproducing apparatus obtains the chain information table at the topof the top file (file 0) in the data region and stores the obtainedreproduction control information of the chain information table in thereproduction control information storing portion 93. Next, thereproducing apparatus obtains the first cell information tablecorresponding to the top chain control information. The menudetermining/selecting portion 92 reads the program cell type information83 included in the cell information table and determines whether or notthe program cell type is a menu. When the program cell type is a menu,the cell reproduction control portion 95 reproduces the program cell.The display portion 96 displays a file selecting menu screen 101 asshown in FIG. 38. The menu screen 101 displays each file number alongwith the corresponding file name (work name). When the user selects anyfile number with the key input portion 91, the menudetermining/selecting portion 92 recognizes the selected file number andobtains the top chain information table in the file corresponding to thefile number. The reproduction control information storing portion 93stores the reproduction control information of the chain informationtable. Thereafter, the reproducing apparatus obtains the first cellinformation table corresponding to the top chain control information.After that, the menu determining/selecting portion 92 reads the programcell type information 83 included in the cell information table. Whenthe program cell type is a menu, the cell reproduction control portion95 reproduces the program cell and displays the next menu screen on thedisplay portion 96.

The menu block determining portion 97 reads the block mode information81 and the block type 82 from the chain information table and determineswhether or not each cell information in the chain information table hascorrelation as a menu block. When the present menu screen and the nextmenu screen correlate, the menu block switching portion 98 switches thepresent menu screen to the next menu screen after an item of the presentmenu screen has been selected. In such a manner, all the menus can besuccessively displayed up to the last cell of the menu block.

In addition, on the disc, a plurality of menu screens with the samecontent but different languages are recorded as one menu block. Thelanguage type of the menu is represented by the specific code 84 in thecell information table. FIG. 39 is a schematic diagram showing anexample of a cell information table group that composes a plurality ofmenu screens with different languages. In this case, when the userdesignates a language type, the specific code determining/storingportion 99 selects only a program cell that composes the menucorresponding to the language type from the menu group that composes onemenu block and successively reproduces it.

Although the present invention has been shown and described with respectto a best mode embodiment thereof, it should be understood by thoseskilled in the art that the foregoing and various other changes,omissions, and additions in the form and detail thereof may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A reproducing apparatus for reproducing arecording medium on which data is recorded as a data file, the data filecomprising a data unit region containing at least one data unitrepresenting a group of a plurality of types of data that aresynchronously reproduced, a cell information region containing at leastone cell information table in the reproducing order, the cellinformation table including a start position information of a programcell and an end position information of the program cell, the programcell composed by selectively linking data defining a plurality of dataunits recorded in the data unit region, and a chain information regioncontaining chain information defining at least one program chaincomposed by selectively linking one or more of the program cells definedin the at least one cell information table, the reproducing apparatuscomprising:first searching means for searching the chain information;second searching means for searching at least one of the at least onecell information table that composes the program chain from the cellinformation region corresponding to the searched chain information; andthird searching means for searching at least one data unit that composesthe program cell from the data unit region corresponding to the cellinformation table searched by the second searching means.
 2. Thereproducing apparatus of claim 1, wherein:the cell information tableincludes a top address of cells and an end address of cells.
 3. Thereproducing apparatus of claim 1, wherein:the chain information includesa cell number sequence that represents a plurality of program cellnumbers defining the program chain and the order of reproduction of theprogram cells in the program chain.
 4. The reproducing apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein:the chain information includes:a cell number sequencethat represents a plurality of program cell numbers defining the programchain and the order of reproduction of the program cells in the programchain; and mode information that represents whether or not each programcell represented by a portion of the cell number sequence is a programcell that can be selectively reproduced along with another program cellalong the same time axis.
 5. A reproducing method for reproducing arecording medium on which data is recorded as a data file, the data filecomprising at least one data unit region containing a data unitrepresenting a group of a plurality of types of data that aresynchronously reproduced, a cell information region containing at leastone cell information table in the reproducing order, the cellinformation table including a start position information of a programcell and an end position information of the program cell, the programcell composed by selectively linking data defining a plurality of dataunits recorded in the data unit region, and a chain information regioncontaining chain information defining at least one program chaincomposed by selectively linking one or more of the program cells definedin the at least one cell information table, the reproducing methodcomprising:searching the chain information; searching at least one ofthe at least one cell information table that composes the program chainfrom the cell information region corresponding to the searched chaininformation; and searching at least one data unit that composes theprogram cell from the data unit region corresponding to the cellinformation table searched by the second searching means.